Chapter 3: Introduction to Second Life - Money and Economy



About Linden Dollars



In Second Life, Linden dollars (L$) are used to buy and sell objects. The exchange rate fluctuates, but is usually about L$250 to $1 in American currency. Other residents can earn money in-world or purchase Linden dollars via the website at https://secure-web0.secondlife.com/my/lindex/ - note that transaction fees apply - but the UC Second Life Project manager distributes funds to UCSL team members for their use on work-related projects. Under no circumstances should you purchase Linden Dollars with personal funds or for personal use on your work account.

There are wide selections of freebies available from stockpiles at many locations throughout SL and directly from other users, so it is usually
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Shopping in Second Life
unnecessary to buy items for general use. If you need to purchase items for work use, speak with your supervisor to receive additional funds.


Tracking Expenses & Purchases


As part of your new employee orientation, you should have been given access to a Google Doc spreadsheet to track your Linden Dollar account balance.

You will be given a certain amount of Linden Dollars (L$) to use in your day to day work. Things that you may need to spend Linden Dollars (L$) on include the fees to upload images, sounds, or animations when we are creating or working on projects, tools or items that may help with your work, or other items that may be purchased at stores in Second Life or on theSecond Life Marketplace.

Other than system upload fees for images, sounds, animations, or mesh files, ALL PURCHASES must be approved by your supervisor no matter how inexpensive the item! Failure to accurately and honestly account for your Linden Dollar (L$) expenditures in a timely manner will be cause for termination!!

The best practice is to record your Linden Dollar (L$) expenditures as you spend them instead of waiting until the end of the day. This ensures that your spreadsheet is always current and accurate and that you won't forget what you spent money on later.

Here is an example of one student's spreadsheet:

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Note that Marketplace purchases include a direct link to the item purchased.


Buying Objects in Second Life



To purchase an item, you usually right-click on it, and choose Buy. The item will be copied to your inventory. (To access it immediately, you may want to select "Recent" at the top of the Inventory window.)


The Second Life Economy



Second Life is the largest user-generated virtual economy in the world. (See http://www.helixvirtualworlds.com/blogs/secondlife/secondlifeeconomyhitsnewalltimehighq12010.)


Continue to Chapter 3: Introduction to Second Life - Snapshots and Profiles